Purse hanger

ABSTRACT

A C-shaped rod member includes upper and lower portions interconnected by a bight portion. The upper and lower portions through transversely extending rod portions engage the top and bottom surfaces of a support. The upper portion extends upwardly and outwardly merging into a shoulder which in turn merges into an outwardly extending ledge on which the straps of a purse or the like may be supported. The ledge then merges into the upper end of the bight portion.

United States Patent [1 1 Bolton Nov. 20, 1973 PURSE HANGER [76] Inventor: Charles D. Bolton, Sidney, Iowa [22] Filed: Nov. 13, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 306,358

52 us. C1. 248/226 R, 24/243 R, 248/205 R 51 1111. C1. A47f 5 00 [58] Field of Search 248/226 R, 226 E,

248/205 R, 304, 308; 24/255, 81 B, 81 C, 84 B, 84 C, 84 R, 261 A, 261 B, 3 F, 243 AB, 243 R; 294/27 R [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,856,847 5/1932 Gates 248/226 E 2,451,667 10/1948 Ducey 248/226 E X 2,172,787 9/1939 Brownell 24/81 C X 2,710,678 6/1955 Rapisarda 24/243 CC 2,461,071 2/1949 Mettenleiter 24/84 B X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 82,775 4/1956 Netherlands 294/27 R Primary Examiner-J. Franklin Foss Attorney-Zarley, McKee & Thomte 5 7 ABSTRACT A C-shaped rod member includes upper and lower portions interconnected by a bight portion. The upper and lower portions through transversely extending rod portions engage the top and bottom surfaces of a support. The upper portion extends upwardly and outwardly merging into a shoulder which in turn merges into an outwardly extending ledge on which the straps of a purse or the like may be supported. The ledge then merges into the upper end of the bight portion.

10 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PURSE HANGER In restaurants or the like there usually is not a suitable place for keeping ladies-type purses while dining and thus they are frequently placed on the floor which is quite unsatisfactory.

The purse hanger of this invention makes it readily possible to support the purse from the edge of the table on which the food is being served. The purse hanger may be readily attached and removed as it is held in place by the weight of the purse. In fact, the gripping action of the purse hanger on the table is a function of the purse weight.

The purse hanger includes a C-shaped rod structure having upper and lower portions which have free ends engaging the top and bottom surfaces of the table support. The upper portion extends upwardly and merges into a shoulder which in turn merges into a ledge por-' tion extending outwardly on which the straps of the purse are supported. The ledge is positioned laterally outwardly from the upper portions engagement with the table and thus causes the hanger to tend to rotate about an axis through the free end of the upper portion thereby causing the lower portion to press into the bottom surface of the table and lock the purse hanger into engagement with the table. Upon removal of the purse and its weight from the ledge on the purse hanger, the purse hanger then is readily free to be lifted from theedge of the table. The shoulder limits the purse straps from inadvertently moving inwardly towards the table and the ledge extends slightly upwardly thereby limiting the straps from coming off the ledge.

This invention consists in the construction, arrangements and combination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth, specifically pointed out in the claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of the purse hanger in use on a table and supporting a purse.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the purse hanger only.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the purse hanger in engagement with a relatively thin table.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the purse hanger as seen in FIG. 3 without the table; and

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but showing a thicker table.

The purse hanger of this invention is referred to generally in FIG. 2 by the reference numeral and includes a generally C-shaped rod structure having a bight portion 12 and upper and lower portions 14 and 16. The upper portion 14 has a free end to which a transversely extending rod element 17 is secured for engaging the top surface 18 of a table 20 as seen in FIGS. 1 and 3. The upper end of the upper portion 14 merges into a shoulder 22 which in turn merges into a laterally outwardly extending ledge portion 24. The outer end of the ledge portion 24 then merges into the upper end of the bight portion 12. The lower end of the bight portion 12 and the lower portion 16 merge together smoothly and the upper free end of the lower portion 16 is connected to a transversely extending rod portion 26 which engages the bottom surface 28 of the table 20.

In use it is seen that the purse hanger 10 is placed on the side of the table with the enlarged rod portions 17 and 26 engaging the top and bottom surfaces 18 and 28, respectively. The ledge 24 is thus positioned laterally outwardly thereby providing a moment arm about an axis through the rod portion 17. The purse 30 includes straps 32 which are then placed over the ledge portion 24 whereby the weight of the purse causes the hanger to tend to rotatein a counterclockwise direction resulting in a downward force being applied to the table by the rod portion 17 opposed by an upward force being applied to the bottom surface 28 of the table by the rod portion 26. It is seen thatthe gripping action thus is a direct function of the weight of the purse. Upon removal of the purse from the ledge 24 the gripping action is released thereby allowing easy removal of the purse hanger from the edge of the table.

In FIG. 5, the purse hanger 10 is shown on a table 20A having a greater thickness than the table 20 in FIGS. 1 and 3. Accordingly, this results in the upper portion 14 extending more erectly upwardly and the ledge 24 extending slightly upwardly and the straps 32 of the purse 30 are retained on the ledge 24 by the shoulder 22 limiting inadvertent inward movement.

Thus through the use of the purse hanger of this invention the purse may be readily maintained off the floor and out of a persons lap and yet within the owners sight which will tend to keep the person from inadvertently leaving it upon leaving. It is also noted that the purse may be opened while hanging on the hanger and items may be removed.

I claim:

1. A purse hanger comprising,

a C-shaped member having upper and lower portions interconnected by a bight portion,

said upper portion having a free end adapted to pivotally engage the top side of a horizontal support, said upper portion extending upwardly from said free end and merging into a laterally outwardly extending ledge which merges into the upper end of said bight portion, and

said lower portion merges into the lower end of said bight portion and includes a free end adapted to engage the underside of a support whereby the straps of a purse positioned on said ledge cause said upper and lower free ends to lock themselves into said support by an increased force being applied to said support through each of said free ends as said hanger pivots.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein said upper portion which merges into said laterally outwardly extending ledge includes a shoulder portion therebetween to limit inward movement of purse straps on said ledge.

3. The structure of claim 2 wherein said shoulder is further defined as being a downwardly and outwardly extending portion extending from the upper end of said upper portion and merging into the inner end of said ledge.

4. The structure of claim 1 wherein the free ends of said upper and lower portions each include enlarged portions for engaging opposite surfaces of said support.

5. The structure of claim 4 wherein said enlarged portions are further defined as being horizontally extending elements.

6. The structure of claim 1 wherein said purse hanger in its entirety is formed from rod material.

7. The structure of claim 1 wherein said lower portion extends upwardly from the bottom end of said bight portion for engagement with the underside of said support.

said upper portion is further defined as being a transversely extending rod portion to provide lateral stability to said hanger while allowing it to pivot about an axial line at the interface of said rod portion and the top side of a horizontal support. 

1. A purse hanger comprising, a C-shaped member having upper and lower portions interconnected by a bight portion, said upper portion having a free end adapted to pivotally engage the top side of a horizontal support, said upper portion extending upwardly from said free end and merging into a laterally outwardly extending ledge which merges into the upper end of said bight portion, and said lower portion merges into the lower end of said bight portion and includes a free end adapted to engage the underside of a support whereby the straps of a purse positioned on said ledge cause said upper and lower free ends to lock themselves into said support by an increased force being applied to said support through each of said free ends as said hanger pivots.
 2. The structure of claim 1 wherein said upper portion which merges into said laterally outwardly extending ledge includes a shoulder portion therebetween to limit inward movement of purse straps on said ledge.
 3. The structure of claim 2 wherein said shoulder is further defined as being a downwardly and outwardly extending portion extending from the upper end of said upper portion and merging into the inner end of said ledge.
 4. The structure of claim 1 wherein the free ends of said upper and lower portions each include enlarged portions for engaging opposite surfaces of said support.
 5. The structure of claim 4 wherein said enlarged portions are further defined as being horizontally extending elements.
 6. The structure of claim 1 wherein said purse hanger in its entirety is formed from rod material.
 7. The structure of claim 1 wherein said lower portion extends upwardly from the bottom end of said bight portion for engagement with the underside of said support.
 8. The structure of claim 1 wherein said free ends of said upper and lower portions are horizontally spaced apart when engaging the opposite sides of a support.
 9. The structure of claim 8 wherein said spaced apart free ends are further defined by said lower free end being spaced inwardly of said upper free end.
 10. The structure of claim 1 wherein the free End of said upper portion is further defined as being a transversely extending rod portion to provide lateral stability to said hanger while allowing it to pivot about an axial line at the interface of said rod portion and the top side of a horizontal support. 